When making changes to a per-
son’s posture, try not to make
the changes dramatic. Usually,
just a slight turn and tilt of the
head does the trick. You don’t
want to have the pose appear
overdone.
✦Feet placed naturally. If you’re
shooting full length portraits,
whether the subject is standing or
sitting, make sure you pay close
attention to feet. You want the feet
positioned close enough together,
but not un-naturally. Additionally, if
your subject is facing you on an
angle, place the foot closest to you
angled slightly more toward the
camera than the other foot. This
adds more balance to the subject
in some portraits, and naturally
turns the subject’s body more
toward the camera.
Try posing your subject’s feet
first, and then work your way
up.
After you understand some of these basic
posing techniques and try them out on
occasion, you’re ready for the next step,
which are more elaborate portrait posing
techniques. I’m not talking about posing
every single inch of a subject’s body; just
some subtle changes to posture or position
can go a long way in making a great portrait.
Refined PosingTechniques
As a photographer, I consider posing an art
form in itself. After I determine what type of
portrait I’m photographing, I then go to
work on setting up the entire body for the
pose I want. I start with the feet and legs
and then work my way up. Even though a
small percentage of portraits are actually
full-body length shots, a best-practice is to
pose the subject as if their entire body is
going to be included in the portrait. While
you are shooting, make sure to take a few
full-length shots as you may discover a few
hidden gems among your images that way.

Positioning the midsection

In the real world, not all of your subjects are
going to be twenty-ish models that weigh
100 pounds. Mastering techniques where
you can photographically slim the midsec-
tion of your subjects is important. This is
increasingly important when photographing
clients who are conscious of their weight.
Establish upfront with your subject whether
they want full length poses or just to be
photographed from the waist up. To make
subjects appear thinner, never have them
pose square to the camera. For standing
positions, have your subjects turn their hips
toward the left or right, preferably away
from the main light. You can also consider
having your subjects shift their weight to the
hip closest to the camera.
Other slimming techniques include:
✦Legs separated slightly. In addi-
tion to having your subject turn his
or her hips slightly to the left or
right, you should also suggest a
stance with the legs slightly sepa-
rated. Avoid full-length portraits
where both legs are positioned
close together; keep a separation
at the thighs when possible.
✦Legs crossed. I use this pose quite
often. Have your subject turn at an
angle, either left or right (prefer-
ably toward the main light), and
Tip
Tip

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